Jailhouse letters of dead inmate say he also witnessed Robert Taylor's demise at Burlington County Jail

MOUNT HOLLY — A former Burlington County Jail inmate who died in the facility last month sent several letters to his fiancee describing conditions at the jail, and those letters also say he witnessed the demise of 75-year-old Robert Taylor.

In jailhouse letters obtained by The Trentonian, former Burlington County Jail inmate Jerome Iozzia corroborates the accounts of those two witnesses.

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The letters were sent from Iozzia to his fiancee Jasmine Rodriguez. And in a letter dated Dec. 31, one day after Taylor died, Iozzia wrote:

“Just found out the old man in SEG with us, who was on the floor for four days and didn’t eat and was s***ting and p***ing all over himself. The whole place stunk he was in the cell next to us. Well he died last nite (sic). They didn’t do anything for him and we saw the whole thing.”

The man Iozzia describes was Taylor. And Burlington County Prosecutors have said that Taylor died of natural causes. On Monday, a county spokesperson sent The Trentonian a letter signed by Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor James Ronca stating that Taylor’s death “was not the consequence of any actions or omissions by the BCJ staff.”

According to jail documents, Iozzia was placed in segregation for fighting with Sean Turzanski, who also says he witnessed Taylor lying on the floor for days without ever eating a bite of food or taking a single shower, while corrections officers made degrading comments and offered no help.

Turzanski says Iozzia was released from segregation shortly before Taylor died in Burlington County Jail. Iozzia died in Burlington County Jail on Feb. 25.

According to Burlington County Public Information Officer Eric Arpert, 50-year-old Iozzia had a known cardiac condition for which he was hospitalized, and then returned to the jail. Arpert says Iozzia was in a medical cell brushing his teeth when he suddenly collapsed, and that the hospital ruled his death the result of “natural causes.”

Iozzia’s death certificate says he died of pneumonia/empyema/sepsis, and that the interval between onset and death was four days.

Jailhouse letters sent from Iozzia to his fiancee indicate that he had complained to jail staff about his heart condition, but received little help. A letter dated Dec. 30 states:

“Call my mom and tell her they are gonna let me sit here for ever (sic). And are not takin (sic) care of my heart. Got my meds all messed up. And still no follow up visit to adjust my pacemaker.”

And a letter dated Jan. 25 states:

“This thing in my chest is really starting to bother me. Need to get out of here to go back to Deborah hospital to get this adjusted, but they won’t send me back.”

The Trentonian was unable to reach Burlington County Prosecutors for comments on Iozzia’s letters.

About the Author

Penny Ray has worked in media for the past 14 years. His career began in radio broadcasting, and most recently he served as editor of Homicide Watch D.C. Reach the author at pennyray@trentonian.com
or follow Penny on Twitter: @Penny_Ray.